The Supreme Court on Wednesday brought to a close the 19-year legal battle over the Exxon Valdez oil spill by sharply reducing the punitive damages to be paid by Exxon Mobil Corp. The court ruled that the oil giant must pay $507 million -- about one-tenth of the original jury award -- to punish it for recklessly putting a known alcoholic in charge of a supertanker traveling a treacherous channel. The justices described Exxon's conduct as "worse than negligent but less than malicious." Capt.

By way of telling his story, and the story of this fishing village, Mike Maxwell -- born, raised and hoping to die here -- wants to talk about what happened to the herring. They were the little kings of the sea in these parts. They ran so thick in Prince William Sound that some days, it was said, you could walk on the water stepping on their silvery-blue backs.

Altagracia Valdez is dreaming of a perfect pink Cadillac. All she has to do to win it, according to her boss at Mary Kay Inc., is expand her list of conocidos. Those familiar connections, she says, can adorn Valdez's 60-year-old hands with diamond rings, pump up her bank account with enough money to pay the bills, buy a house and help her finally enjoy some middle-class financial security.

The ever-faithful mule is still by his side, the poncho neatly draped over his shoulder, the straw hat perched atop the serene, mustachioed visage. But this is a new Juan Valdez -- younger, more vigorous, more eco-conscious -- a Colombian coffee grower for the hyper-caffeinated era of double lattes, triple shots and gourmet blends. Venerable Juan Valdez, one of the most successful emblems of modern advertising, is getting a makeover.

November 3, 2007 | David Lebedoff, David Lebedoff is the author of "Cleaning Up," an account of the Exxon Valdez trial.

It's a long way to certiorari It's a long way to go It's a long way to certiorari And the highest court I know. These are the words, as best I recall them, of one of our class songs at Harvard Law School, many decades ago. Golden oldie it isn't, though it does help explain why, at an even earlier date, Cole Porter left the place so hurriedly after enrollment. Let the ditty introduce the layman to the curious word certiorari.

After the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in 1989, experts predicted it would take years to clean up the worst oil spill in U.S. history and restore the pristine waters of Alaska's Prince William Sound. It has turned out that cleaning up the massive litigation in its wake has taken even longer. To the surprise and dismay of some weary plaintiffs' lawyers, the Supreme Court announced Monday that it would reconsider whether Exxon Mobil Corp. can be forced to pay a record $2.

I am blown away by the beautifully written piece "Driven to Distraction" (Sept. 16) about artist Vincent Valdez and his Chavez Ravine opus for Ry Cooder. Most art stories are as dull as watching paint dry, but Lynell George gave us a compelling and thoughtful account of this artist's process, creative battle and journey. Valdez is very talented, but I now appreciate and understand the thought and action behind each brush stroke. His creation is valorous, and so was the article.

VINCENT VALDEZ thought it should be simple enough. The job: Retelling the nasty land-grab saga of Chavez Ravine, with all its vivid twists and turns, in all of its lurid hues. The story was shot through with themes that the young artist often revisited in his work: class and race, haves and have-nots, history and hearsay. The only significant twist in this project was that instead of a using a standard canvas, he'd be layering the narrative onto a truck.

They're an eclectic group, the Dodgers substitutes, including two Dominicans, a Panamanian and a Puerto Rican born in Philadelphia. But because they're quiet and some of them play only slightly more often than the coaching staff, they haven't earned a catchy nickname like the second-stringers on other teams. "They don't really have a name," third base coach Rich Donnelly said. "They're just bench guys."

In all likelihood, Wilson Valdez will have a short stay at shortstop for the Dodgers. But he'll always have Saturday afternoon by the bay. Valdez has played for seven organizations in eight seasons, accumulating all of 182 major league at-bats. He squeezed onto the Dodgers' roster because Rafael Furcal is on the disabled list, but Ramon Martinez played shortstop the first four games.